Bullz-Eye Blog » Deadwoodhttp://blog.bullz-eye.com
men's lifestyle blog, blog for guysTue, 31 Mar 2015 12:44:56 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1The Light from the TV Shows: A Chat with Titus Welliver (‘Bosch’)http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2014/02/10/the-light-from-the-tv-shows-a-chat-with-titus-welliver-bosch/
http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2014/02/10/the-light-from-the-tv-shows-a-chat-with-titus-welliver-bosch/#commentsMon, 10 Feb 2014 14:00:56 +0000http://blog.bullz-eye.com/?p=34360There are so many things that you might know Titus Welliver from that we simply don’t have the time or space to list them all – although you can hit up his IMDb listing if you really want the full monty – but, for example, even just limiting it to shows that are currently on the air that’s he’s popped up in, you’ve got NCIS, Supernatural, Sons of Anarchy, Suits, The Good Wife, CSI: Criminal Scene Investigation, Grimm, White Collar, and Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. At the moment, though, Welliver has high hopes that he’ll have a full-time gig on his hands in the near future…but that’s going to be up to audiences to decide.

If you’re a fan of author Michael Connelly, then you’ll most likely recognize the name “Hieronymus Bosch” as belonging to someone other than a Dutch painter: he’s a character in more than a few of Connelly’s novels – you may know him better as Harry – and now he’s making the jump to the small screen…or, more specifically, to Amazon…with Welliver playing the part in a new pilot. If it proves successful amongst viewers, then

Bosch will go to series, and if not…well, let’s not even consider that possibility, because I’ve seen the pilot, and it’s pretty damned good.

In fact, it’s so good that you really ought to go watch it right now, which you can do by clicking right here. After you’re done, though, be sure to come back, because I had a chance to talk with Welliver about working on the project in some detail, and before we wrapped up, we also had a bit of time to chat about his experiences on one of his earlier TV projects as well. (Hint: he worked with David Milch on the series.)

Bullz-Eye: I’m sure you’ve gone on record elsewhere about the origins of how you came aboard the project in the first place, but as I haven’t heard them, how did you end up in the mix to play Harry Bosch?

Titus Welliver: Well, I read the script and…it was sort of a funny situation, because I was trying to meet with the producers and Michael Connelly, because I read the script and I went crazy for it and just felt like I so desperately wanted to play this character. But I was shooting Transformers 4, and a lot of different locations and a very long shoot, and sometimes it was a little bit like being in the military – in, like, special operations – where, literally, I’d get a call saying, “We need you here, now!” [Laughs.] So there were, like, three attempted meetings, and I was really getting nervous about it because, y’know, at a certain point they kind of go, “Well, as much as we’d really like to meet with you, we’ve gotta get going!”

So when I did finally get to sit down and meet with Michael Connelly and Erik Overmyer and Jim McKay and Henrik Bastin and Pieter Jan Brugge and the whole clan, it was one of those things where I walked into the room and sat down, and within five minutes… I already knew that I wanted to play the character and I loved the script, but just the energy – for lack of a better word – coming from this group, I thought, “I have to do this. My God, I really have to do it!” And that’s not always the case, y’know? Sometimes you can love material but there’s personality conflicts or whatever, you just have a gut feeling about something. But I knew from the second I got in there, “I want to work with these people.” So in that way, it was great. And I feel very blessed that I’ve been given the opportunity.

BE: Given your work history, I’m sure you don’t have but so much time to read, but did you have at least a passing familiarity with the character you were going to be playing?

TW: Yes, I’d read a Bosch book several years ago, and it certainly resonated with me. And when I got the role of Bosch, Michael explained to me that the pilot and the first season would be a combination of two of the books, Concrete Blonde and City of Bones. So I read both of those books, and Michael very generously sent me all of the Bosch books, but he specifically said, “These are the ones that you want to read first, because they relate directly to what we’re doing in the first season.” So, like the script, I burned through the books, and what I found really interesting was that…I found the books very moving. And that’s not always the case in that genre. They’re character-driven, but that’s also the thing about Harry Bosch: he’s a guy who’s deeply compassionate. Yes, he’s a tough guy, he’s a rough-and-tumble guy, but his emotional life is one of…y’know, he’s a deeply haunted and vulnerable character. He’s not just this tough-guy superhero character. He’s a really deeply nuanced character.

BE: Watching the pilot, during the scene with you and Amy Price-Francis outside the courtroom, there seemed to be an almost noir-like patter between the two of you…and then a few minutes later, there’s a shot of you smoking a cigarette with haunting jazz music playing in the background. At that point, I went, “Okay, this clearly isn’t my imagination: they’re definitely going for some sort of noir thing here.”

TW: [Laughs.] Yeah! And, you know, thankfully, that’s the great blessing about… You know, sometimes having Michael Connelly as an executive producer / writer…I mean, it’s his baby. He created it. So to have him there, the integrity of the books and the integrity of the character is intact. And I think very often things are picked up by the industry and a lot of the things that are important, the nuances of those things, are lost. There’s a temptation or an inclination to try and make it better, and I think what you have to do is to really trust your source material – particularly when it’s as strong as Michael Connelly’s books – and service that and speak to that.

We had to alter his military background due to my age, obviously. I’m a wee bit young to have been a tunnel rat in Vietnam. [Laughs.] So we changed it to… He’s a veteran of the Gulf War, Special Forces 5th Group, and after the tragedy of 9/11, he reenlists back into the Special Forces 5th Group and fights in the caves of Afghanistan. So while that might tweak some of the hardcore Bosch fans, you have to do that. Otherwise, y’know, then you have to set the clock back in order to make the age work. But also, I mean, that’s a blessing and a curse: you’re never gonna please everybody. I mean, the hope is to please everybody, but, y’know, there’s a global fanbase for the Bosch books, and, look, people are very protective – understandably – of the characters, and everybody has a different sort of idea of the physicality that they’ve created in their mind and attached to a character. But I do know is that we’ve really…we’ve stayed to the books. We haven’t strayed from the books. So my hope is that the fans of the books are supportive.

And thus far they have been really, really supporting. And it is, it’s a daunting task to jump into these shoes, because, look, I’m the same kind of person. You know, you read a book, and then they make a film of it, and they may cast a great actor, but it doesn’t match with what’s in your mind. And I sort of realized years ago, probably because it’s what I do, that it’s really unfair. You have to sort of let it land. But I feel that we’ve really, really maintained the integrity of the books, and the response thus far has been really, really positive.

BE: And you would think – or hope, anyway – that if the creator of the character is willing to sign off on the changes, then they should just accept ‘em and sit back and enjoy ‘em.

TW: Yeah, ‘cause, y’know, the truth of the matter is that Michael is an executive producer and a writer, and there’s no way that Michael was going to arbitrarily throw his hands up and say, “Yeah, okay, whatever you want to do.” When I got the blessing of Connelly… Well, also, for me as an actor, to have him there, that’s gold. Absolute gold. If I ever feel lost or there’s question, Michael is there to explain anything and everything that I would need to know.

BE: I mean this in the best possible way, but you pretty much encapsulate the word “world-weary” in your performance.

TW: [Laughs.] Yes, thank you. I think he is. I mean, that’s one of the things I like about the character. He’s a very strong guy, there’s no question about it, but he has a real vulnerability, and…you don’t do a job like that, you don’t face death and loss on a daily basis as a human being and not become affected by it. And I think that’s one of the things that makes Harry Bosch such a strong character. Because he’s very real. He’s attainable. And that’s the other thing about him: this is not a guy who’s necessarily completely comfortable in his own skin. He kind of navigates the world in his own way. He’s not a guy who expresses… [Hesitates.] His heart is not on his sleeve. He’s a rather guarded character. And, you know, that’s a lot of fun to play, too, because you have to let some of that out. Which Michael does in the books. Bosch exposes a certain element to himself in moments of feeling comfortable. But for the most part, he’s a deeply guarded individual.

BE: In regards to the tweak to Bosch’s history from Vietnam to the Gulf War, it seems to put him a notch below being the kind of guy who’d say, “I’m getting too old for this shit,” even though he’s clearly seen a lot in his time, anyway.

TW: Yeah, although I think that there is a quality of “I’m getting too old for this shit.” But he’s so driven that he has such a strong moral compass. “I’m getting too old for this shit, but by the same token, I don’t know how to do anything else.” And retirement for a guy like Harry Bosch is sheer terror. So I think he’s… I see him as being one of those characters who just will go kicking and screaming and will always find a way to somehow stay connected to law enforcement – if he was to become a private eye, if he ultimately had to pension out – because to not do the work that he does…? That’s his sustenance. That’s his life force. That’s what keeps him going.

There’s actually a line in the pilot where Jamie Hector’s character, J. Edgar, says, “You know how many guys would kill for a stint on the disabled list?” And Bosch says, “I’m no good with down time.” And that’s really him at his essence. He also says to Billet (Amy Aquino’s character) later on, when she says that she’s gonna take the case away from him and give it to Cold Case, he says, “I need to work. This is the work that I do.” You know, those things really resonate with me very, very strongly in speaking about who Harry really is.

BE: Your use of the phrase “kicking and screaming” reminds me that it was almost refreshing to see Bosch smoking so much in the pilot.

TW: Yeah, well, and that’s… [Starts to laugh.] Look, I’ve known a lot of cops in my time, and some of them, the way they smoke, you… I mean, they chain-smoke. Now, ultimately, Harry will quit smoking, but I think too often there’s the politically-correct thing of, “What message are we sending to our younger audience? That we condone smoking? And life choices? And drinking?” Whatever they do. But the truth of the matter is that people do that. People smoke, people drink, people swear, and people act out. So that’s part of who Harry is.

Years ago, I did a television show, Falcone, and the only reason they allowed my character to smoke is because he was a bad guy. He was a capo in an Italian crime family, so they allowed him to smoke. And I remember there was a question about whether the sort of hero of the show could smoke, and they said, “Oh, no, no, no. The hero can never smoke. You can’t do that.” But you know what? The hero can smoke. It’s okay.

BE: I know you don’t want to count your chickens before they hatch, but Bosch certainly seems to be the most high-profile of this batch of Amazon pilots, therefore I can’t help but lean toward thinking – and I’m sure you’re hoping profoundly – that it’s going to be picked up.

TW: I really do. Not just for obvious reasons. It’s just that, for me as an actor, it’s a character that came along that I absolutely love playing, and I feel like there’s so many stories to tell, as well as just the gift of having a phenomenal cast. I get to go to work every day with an incredible ensemble cast, and that in itself is a blessing. It’s a great blessing.

BE: Given how trying the Transformers movie sounds to have been, I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that there’s the potential for getting into a regular routine again.

TW: Yeah, I mean, it’s… I’m a single father of three kids, you know, and there’s something to be said for sleeping in your own bed and being able to drop off and pick up your kids from school, and being able to have dinner with your kids, and…all these things are important. The most important. That’s sort of the blessing and the curse of playing a character episodically, because what do you do if… [Hesitates.] You hope the material is strong enough to maintain your interest. Because I think it would be very easy to become sort of…not necessarily bored, but at a certain point to say, “Well, I’ve played this long enough. I kind of want to do something else.” Whereas there’s so many Bosch books. We have a lot of material to cover, and I can’t wait to… Well, you know, yes, I don’t count my chickens. [Laughs.] But it’s really my hope that this will be realized as a series, because I feel very passionate about it, and I think it’s a wonderful character, and I think the audience… I think audiences deserve this character. They really deserve to have a character that’s different, you know?

BE: Looking back at your series career, you’ve had some lengthy guest arcs on various series, and you’ve also had some full-time gigs as well. Is there one in the bunch in particular that didn’t last as long as you wished it had?

TW: Yeah, I’d say… There’s a show I did with David Milch, Big Apple, and the cast – just to name a few – was Ed O’Neill, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Madsen, and Kim Dickens. It was beautifully written, and it just became a casualty. I mean, that’s one of the difficulties. It’s a little bit of a deal with the devil with network television, and I think it happens all too often. If a show comes on and it doesn’t explode out of the box with the first couple of episodes, it goes away. I can’t remember how many actually aired. It might’ve been a total of nine. [Hesitates.] Yeah, I want to say it was probably a total of nine. And it was an enormous disappointment that that didn’t get to live longer.

Ironically, our first season was about corporate corruption, and our second season would’ve been delving into the world of counter-terrorism…and then 9/11 happened. So maybe that was a blessing, in a way, that we were not, y’know, dramatizing something that became a horrible reality in our world. But, yeah, that was such an amazing cast. And, of course, obviously I’ve worked with David before and since. I’ve done NYPD Blue, Brooklyn South, and then after Big Apple I did Deadwood with David. And certainly, when working with David, the bar is always raised at the highest level. So, yeah, that’s one that sort of sticks out in my mind.

BE: Speaking of Deadwood, I remember that, when I talked to Ed O’Neill about Big Apple a couple of years back, the biggest takeaway I had from that conversation was that David actually wrote the character of Swearingen for Ed.

TW: Yes!

BE: Sometimes, even now, I can’t quite wrap my head around that.

TW: [Laughs.] I know. And, you know, what’s funny is that I… [Hesitates.] Well, what was interesting to me in working with Ed was, you know, I knew Ed from Married with Children like everyone else. And Ed is an actor of the highest order. He happens to be extremely funny, but he’s one of the finest dramatic actors on the planet. And he was able to flex that muscle in Big Apple, and I found that heartbreaking for that reason…one of many. But, yeah, he was going to be Swearingen, and I remember talking to Eddie about that not so long ago. Eddie said, “Yes, there’s a level of disappointment, but, you know, I watch that show, and I can’t imagine anyone other than Ian McShane playing that role.”

BE: Yeah, he said something to that effect to me, too.

TW: Because, I mean, look: Ian McShane is a Jedi Knight. Forget it. [Laughs.] That was a gift, to go to work with him. That was a master class every time I sat across the table from him. Just incredible. Incredible. And a very generous actor. Very generous. You know, always working hard to help his fellow actors realize that he just gave, gave, gave, and continued to do so. I hope to work with him again.

I’m sure some would still try to argue this point, but in a world where it seems like just about every comic-inspired movie finds itself atop the box office on its week of release, it’s hard to pretend that comics are strictly the domain of the geeks and the nerds. (Would that this transition could’ve occurred when I was still in high school.)

As such, Bullz-Eye is going to try to tackle more stories from the medium…and when I was sent a copy of “Ides of Blood,” a new series from DC / WildStorm which is – at least according to the press release – not entirely unlike a blend of “True Blood” and “Rome,” it certainly seemed like something that our readership might be interested in learning more about.

God bless DC’s publicity department: they quickly put me in touch with series creator Stuart Paul, who gladly answered a few questions for us about his own introduction to comic books, the origins of “Ides of Blood,” his semi-controversial decision to have characters in ancient Rome use modern colloquialisms, which of DC’s stable of superheroes he’d like to take a shot at writing, and much much more.

Since I’ve seen the phrase “new to comic books” used in conjunction with your history of writing for the medium, what’s your personal background with comics? And don’t be shy: if your memory stretches back that far, feel free to offer up the very first comic you remember buying.

My childhood experience with comics was pretty limited. Other than reading the occasional issue of Moon Knight or X-Men at my friend’s house, the only comics I personally bought were “Star Trek” comics—mostly “Next Generation” and some of the original crew that took place in the post-“Wrath of Khan” time period. It wasn’t until college that my girlfriend reintroduced me to comics through Sandman. Once I realized there were comics for adults out there, I started reading them more and more. Initially, I stuck with the superstars—Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Brian K. Vaughan, Garth Ennis. I was kind of a Vertigo whore at first. I guess I still kind of am, but not as much. I have to hear a lot of good buzz about something before I’ll invest in a whole series like Walking Dead, but I’ve definitely branched out. Once I discovered Urasawa’s Pluto, I started getting into manga more. Right now, I’ve got 20th Century Boys, Basilisk and Lone Wolf and Cub to read. I also went through a period of reading a lot of DC superheroes. Jeph Loeb’s Batman stuff is my favorite. Sometimes I’ll still read X-Men, but it’s pretty rare for me to read superheroes these days. My favorite series right now is probably Okko. I think Archaia is doing some of the most creative and well-made comics today. Also, Chew is the only series I read on a monthly basis. Everything else is TPB’s, although the iPad is kind of changing that.

There’s been much talk about how fans of both “True Blood” and “Rome” will find much to enjoy in Ides of Blood. Is that combination what led to the concept for this series? If not, what were its origins, and how do you feel about those points of comparison?

No, neither show existed when I originally came up with the idea and wrote the first draft. I mean, I don’t have a problem with people using those as points of reference. It’s an effective shorthand, but it’s the type of thing you’d bring up in a Hollywood pitch meeting. The problem is that you don’t necessarily know what connotations those shows have for the reader and also, they’re such current references that it makes the comic sound like it’s just trying to exploit the zeitgeist. I mean, if you said it’s “Gladiator” meets… well, actually, “Dracula” might have too much baggage attached to the name, so I guess “True Blood” probably is a good descriptor. The point is, I don’t mind the comparison, but I do think it has as much potential to put-off readers as it does to draw them in. Anyway, the concept for the series came out of boredom. I don’t really like vampires, so it started as a challenge to myself to figure out what I’d have to do to make vampires interesting to me. Julius Caesar just popped into my head.

Are you at all concerned about a possible vampire backlash, given how many of these bloodsuckers are popping up in pop culture nowadays, or do you think the creative setting of ancient Rome will be enough for vampire enthusiasts to grant you some leeway? (i.e., “Okay, I thought he was just a bandwagon jumper, but I have to admit, this is something we haven’t seen before.”)

The backlash has definitely been a factor, and I think it probably has somewhat hurt the comic’s reception. I’m just as sick of vampire stuff as the rest of you. And it’s easy for people to assume, especially when you’re dealing with a genre-mash-up like this, that the idea came out of some douchebag who was, like, “What’s hot these days? Vampires! What else is hot these days? Ancient Rome! What if we put them together?” But like I said, I started working on this idea five years ago, long before anyone had even heard of “Twilight.” That being said, I think that a lot of people have kept an open mind and thought the concept was cool enough that they’d give it a try. By the end of the first issue, I feel like we proved that we weren’t just in it for the quick buck, but that this is a fully-realized world that is truly trying to do something original. A couple of reviewers have even said that they picked up the book not expecting to like it but the comic changed their mind. It won’t work for everybody, and there’s some people who won’t let their mind be changed no matter what, but I am very grateful to those who came to Ides with an open mind and let themselves buy into the world.

Speaking of vampires, I’d be curious about some of your favorites, especially if your list contains any obscurities that you’re particularly proud of and would like to trumpet.

There aren’t many. There really are only two I can actually list as favorites. The first is “Let the Right One In.” It’s just brilliant filmmaking. The mood is so powerful, and the relationship between the kids is unique. I’d never seen a story like it before. The other is “Martin.” This is a George Romero movie about a kid who thinks he’s a vampire but doesn’t actually have supernatural powers. He goes around drugging women with hypodermic needles and drinking their blood. It’s very 70’s and sexual and psychological and it has a fantastic ending. The same girlfriend who introduced me to Sandman showed me this movie. I ended up marrying her, which I think was a wise choice.

I like Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire and Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, but neither of them to a fantastic degree. “True Blood” has some boring characters, but it just got awesome with the King of Mississippi. I like Murnau’s “Nosferatu” better than Tod Browning’s “Dracula.” It’s a shame “Shadow of the Vampire” didn’t live up to its potential.

One of the things about the miniseries that threw me at first was the characters’ usage of modern colloquialisms. Was there any point when you considered using some semblance of era-accuracy with their dialogue? And what would you say to those who might find themselves disconnected from the concept because of the decision to go this route?

It’s been a very divisive choice, and I totally get why it might not work for everyone, but there’s a couple reasons I went this way with it. At first the book was going to be a “For Mature Readers” title, so I was going to have people use profanity, much like “Rome.” But when Wildstorm told me I couldn’t do that, I changed all the curses to Latin. This actually worked fantastically, and I was happy I took out the modern profanity. But apparently this didn’t fly either ‘cause they didn’t want kids Googling Latin curse words. Personally, I think anything that educates kids about foreign languages is a good thing, but so be it. So when I needed another way to express things, I decided to go colloquial with it. It’s how the characters would have sounded to each other.

Plus, I thought it fit the genre. As the story became more of a noir, I though it would be cool to give it a bit of a pulp, Mickey Spillane flavor. More importantly, we’ve seen attempts at realistic dialogue before. It usually ends up with everyone sounding like the Royal Shakespeare Company. I also feel that the idea of realism or accuracy in dialogue in period pieces is a fallacy. First off, these people didn’t speak English—they spoke Latin. So already by translating it, you’ve altered everything. A lot of nuance of specific concepts is immediately gone. If you accurately translated what these characters actually said, it wouldn’t sound right to our ears. A lot of people also seem to think that simply using more formalized dialogue and adding “fuck,” that somehow you’ve reinvented the wheel. I disagree. That’s one of the reasons I think “Deadwood” was brilliant. It was not historically accurate. It was David Milch’s version of the Old West—and not just regarding curse words. Those were the most eloquent *********** I’ve ever met. I mean, you’ve got these uneducated miners and tinhorns who speak better than most college professors with their ditchwater Victorian monologues. The thing is, he was expressing an aspect of the Old West and interpreting it in his own way. The words weren’t authentic, but the interactions and spirit were.

Look, man, everything should be tried at least once. Would I want all period pieces written with modernized dialogue? Of course not. That would be terrible. But if it’s not appropriate for an alternate-history pulp-noir swords-and-sandals yarn where Julius Caesar has conquered Transylvania and made vampires into slaves, when is it appropriate?

How did you and Christian Duce first cross paths? Did DC / Wildstorm put the two of you together, or had you already known him? And how did your vision of what the characters would look like evolve after he came onto the project?

Shannon Eric Denton at Wildstorm put us together. We didn’t really have any direct interaction until after Christian had penciled the first couple issues, so there weren’t any discussions about the character designs. Fortunately, Christian is a brilliant artist who has an uncanny, almost telepathic ability to visualize what I’m trying to express in my scripts, so he pretty much nailed the characters.

Actually, my favorite character design he came up with is for one of the minor characters, Cassius. I wanted Cassius to be a sort of blowhard puppet who follows whatever Brutus says, since Cassius has traditionally been more of a Lucifer figure, and there’s just something about Christian’s character design (it may be the mutton chops) that fills me with glee.

Ides of Blood is a creator-owned series, of course, but given the chance, which of DC’s established heroes would you be interested at taking a crack at one of these days?

That’s a tough question. I have a great idea for a Flash limited series that also plays around with ancient history that I would love to do. That being said, I really like Batman. It would be a really enjoyable challenge to find new ground to cover for his character. Green Lantern would be fun just because I could do lots of stuff in outer space. But really, other than the Flash idea, if I had my pick of the litter, I’d probably have to go with Superman just because he’s Superman. You can create such amazing images with his powers, I’d love to see what unique situations I could put him in. Also, I feel that unlike Batman, there’s a lot more to his character that hasn’t been mined yet.

I’ve seen the trailer for “Orion Slave Girls Must Die,” so it’s clear you’ve got more than a little bit of a “Star Trek” background as well. What’s your favorite memory (or memories, if you can’t narrow it down) of attending either a “Trek” or comic convention? And feel free to divide it into “fan” and “creator” memories, if you need to do so.

Ha! Yeah, man. I loves me some Star Trek. DS9 is my favorite TV show of all time. I guess my favorite Trek convention memory is when my parents and I went to my first convention in Pasadena and John DeLancie, who played Q, was speaking. Instead of telling old Trek anecdotes or a Q and A, he read a short story he wrote. I don’t remember the title, but it was about a guy who is playing dice with the devil for his soul. At the end, a fly lands on the die and takes a shit, changing the number so that the guy loses. Being a story about demons and fly-shitting, my parents were mildly scandalized, but I was totally enraptured by the story when he was telling it. In fact, he’s the only speaker whose presentation at all stuck with me.

Looking back, how much growth do you see in your work as a screenwriter between “Confessions of a Late Bloomer” and “Orion Slave Girls”?

Man, someone’s been using IMBD! Well, they were both student projects I wrote while in film school, and the first things I’d written that I didn’t direct myself (and had actual budgets). “Confessions of a Late Bloomer” was really a reflection on my high school experience. I think it’s well-made and director Jen McGowan did a great job with it, but it’s not really told in my voice. It’s pretty conventional. I feel it was less about expressing my POV as a writer and more about proving to myself that I could apply the things I was learning in school and make a basic 3-act movie (albeit a short one). “Orion Slave Girls” definitely had more of myself in it. Whenever I’m strapped for ideas, I usually end up coming back to “Star Trek” in one way or another. It was more inspired by that thing in college where you realize you and your high school friend are going down different paths in life. I think the gags are more clever in “Orion,” and obviously the style and subject matter are more up my alley, but I’m not sure how much actual growth you can see between the two projects, particularly since the final product was the director’s creation as well as mine, but I definitely think I felt more comfortable with playing around with the narrative structure in “Orion.”

And, lastly, are you keeping your fingers crossed that “Ides of Blood” might serve as the kickstart for a gig as a screenwriter? Also, given how quickly Hollywood is snapping up comic projects for development, I’m curious if you’d even finished punctuating your pitch for DC / Wildstorm before you’d been approached by a studio. Mind you, I’m not necessarily asking for specific details. I’m just wondering if indeed there’s been movement on that front for “Ides of Blood” already.

(Sighing) It’s a pretty common Hollywood story. I write film and TV as well, so the way this all started was that I wrote Ides of Blood as a screenplay. I got it to DC’s film people, and they thought it would make a great movie, so I wrote up a pitch for the comic series that we sent to Wildstorm. So we were doing the whole reverse-engineering thing. Afterwards, we started prepping the film pitch. Then DC went through this reshaping, which put a halt to the project, so right now the prospects of a film are in limbo until the new guard decides what to do. These things happen all the time, though. I’ve learned not to believe anything is a sure thing in Hollywood because it can all fall through up until the last possible moment. Hopefully DC will pick the project up again and indeed hire me to write the screenplay, but really there’s no guarantee. I wish every comic creator had right of first refusal to write the screenplay. I find it somewhat heinous that the WGA offers no protection to screenwriters who became comic writers and now face the prospect of getting bumped off their own creation. But, when you’re a young writer, you just have to go in, pitch the hell out of yourself and hope for the best.

Closing note: Paul dropped a line a few minutes after answering the last question, clarifying, “I hold no grudges against any of the staff at DC. They were nothing but supportive of me and Ides.” I hadn’t got the impression that he might’ve felt otherwise, so maybe you didn’t, either, but I figured he’d still prefer it if I included his clarification, so there you have it!